A couple weeks ago Daniel Burstein reached out to me for a quick interview.  Burstein was doing some research for a blog he was writing on Personalized URLs.  His questions and my answers are below:

Q: When would you recommend marketers use pURLs?
A: PURLs are a great tool for any marketer using email marketing or direct mail.  Historically, the high cost of PURLs would limit the technology to larger companies with the matching budgets.  But today, PURLs have become much more affordable and easier to use.  Now any marketer, no matter the budget or technical ability can give PURLs a try without much risk.

Q: When should they avoid them?
A: If your looking for a magic pill that is going to take a poorly executed campaign and make it great, PURLs are not your answer.  PURLs are like icing on a cake.  If you bake a great tasting cake, the icing will make it taste even better.  But if you bake a cake that tastes like leather, the icing won’t do you much good.  In other words, by putting PURLs on top of a poorly executed campaign, you’ll still end up with poorly executed campaign.  But when PURLs are placed on top of a well-executed campaign, the results can be astounding.  I see to many people that think PURLs are going to be their answer, and they can neglect the basic principals of marketing.

Q: What are the pros and cons?
A: PURLs will increase response and conversion rates by making your campaigns personalized and relevant to your prospects.  PURLs also allow you to track the real-time responses to your campaign efforts and build a closer, more intimate relationship with your prospect/customer.

Despite the fact that PURLs have become much easier to use, there is still a slight learning curve.  Some can pick up the basics in a few minutes, others may require a day.  But regardless, there needs to be a willingness and desire to learn a new technology.

Q: What are some good examples you’ve seen?
A: Here are some great examples: http://www.purlem.com/blog/category/personalized-urls-purls/examples
And our delicious feed is another good resource: http://delicious.com/purlem/example

Q: Anything I should have asked but didn’t?
A: I think we pretty much covered the basics.  Our press page might also be helpful: http://purlem.com/press

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You can see the final blog post here:
PURL Jam: 6 ways personalized URLS can help increase the virality of your campaigns 

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